The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dianthus, or garden pink, that is grown for use as an ornamental landscape and container plant. It is known botanically as Dianthus×hybrida and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘WP05 ENID’. It is one of two applications by the inventor of two co-pending cultivars of Dianthus. The other is titled Dianthus Plant Named ‘WP05 YVES’ U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 11/523,431.
‘WP05 ENID’ is the product of a breeding program started by the inventor in 1985 in a cultivated area of Houndspool, Dawlish, Devon, United Kingdom. The primary focus of the breeding program is to produce new cultivars of garden pinks that exhibit unique characteristics of flower color and form, and which, preferably, are highly and pleasantly fragrant. In addition, new varieties are selected for being well-proportioned in respect of ratio of overall height (including flower canopy) to overall width.
Ordinarily, the inventor carries out controlled crosses, with known parents, and selected new varieties for sets of similar characteristics in order to make whole sets of series. ‘WP05 ENID’ is a chance hybrid plant that was selected in 2003 as a single seedling from a large group (which the inventor designated as Family 9722) of open-pollinated seedlings which itself had resulted from open-pollination of a group of unnamed and unreleased plants of Dianthus from the inventor's large collection of Dianthus. Thus, on this occasion, the inventor is unable to identify either the male or the female parent, or to draw comparisons between ‘WP05 ENID’ and either parent.
‘WP05 ENID’ was selected for its distinguishing combination of compact well-proportioned habit, floriferous blooming, perfume fragrance and double bi-colored flowers. The closest cultivar known to the inventor is Dianthus Plant names ‘DEVON YOLANDE’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,029). ‘WP05 ENID’ is distinguished from ‘DEVON YOLANDE’ by having a large red-purple center area in each flower whereas ‘DEVON YOLANDE’ has a small red-purple center area in each flower.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by the inventor in 2003, in a cultivated area of Houndspool, United Kingdom. The method of asexual propagation used was stem cuttings. Since that time the characteristics of the new cultivar have been determined stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations of vegetative propagation.